Electric train bulletin-board.



0, E. ABERNETHY.

ELECTRlC TRAIN BULLETIN BOARD. APPLICATION FILED DEC.4, 1914.

1 1 '7 1 ,9 1 5 Patented Feb. 15, 1916.

3 SHEETS-SHEET ly 0% J2 Mm 1 00000 a, JTZ J5 Witnesses y Wj by d i t W Attorneys,

Inventor 'C. E. ABERNETHY.

ELECTRIC TRAIN BULLETIN BOARD. APPLICATION FILED 0110.11I 1914.

1,171,915. I Patented Feb. 15,1916.

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ooawoooco L I v Q I g o -o a a a a a yconn TRAlNW/VIL-L ARRIVE FROM r NEW YORK. CHICAGO.

- Inventor,-

. Attorneys,

Witnesses C. E. ABERNETHY.

' ELECTRIC TRAIN BULLETIN BOARD.

APPLICATION FILED DEC. 4, 1914.

1,171,915, v Patented Feb. 15,1916.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 3- llllHllllU 4 1 .25 a k J 7 P 2. 5 E 15/ y; 7/7

2* 25. v I 2 J4 F (I I l' I 6% fll/ififi lmmy Inventor by I Attorneys,

. omnronn EARL ann'nnn'rr ijor rrro rortr, iion'rn CAROLINA.

a. nrlncrrnrc TRAIN BuLLn'rIn-Bomtn.

I Z '0 all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, CLIFFORDEARL Anna- NETHY, a citizen 01" the United States, residing at Hickory, in the county of Catawba and State oi'iNorth Carolina, have invented a new and useful Electr c Tram Bulletin- Board, of which the following is a specifica= tion.

he presentinvention relates to improvements in electric train bulletin boards, one object of theinventionpbeing the provision of an apparatusof this character, which is controlled by a manually operated: master which as before stated, may be a single clock or a plurality of clocks, there being further provided automatic means set in operation clock so that one or more bulletin clocks may b operated, there belng vprovided one bulletin clock for each train to designate the original arriving or leaving time thereof, the latter being operably connected through electrical means through the 'master clock,

whereby the minutes late that train happensupon arrival or departure may be automatically transmitted to the bulletinclock,

releasing the pawls thereof topermit'of the y as ' bination and arrangement of partsandin nections.

, the master clock. Fig. 31s a side elevation automatic returning of the bulletin-clock to its normal positi'on, the electromagnet for actuating thebulletin clock, being of lesser strength than the one for releasing the pawls.

lVith .the foregoing, and other objects in- View which willappear-as the description proceeds, the inventionresides 1n the comthe details of construction hereinafter described and claimed, it being understood that changes in-the-precise embodiment of the invention herein disclosed can be made within the scope of what s'claimed without departing fromthe spirit of, the invention.

a In the drawingsFigure 1 is a diagrammatic view show ng a master clockwlth one bulletin clock with the various electrical con- Flg. 2 s a view ln 'elevatlon of thereof. Fig. 4 is an enlarged detail sectionalview showing the connection for man- Application filed December}, 1914. Serial nasrasis.

Specification of Letters Patent. 7 Pfitfilfitfid Feb. 15,1916.

ually operating the minute i arbor. Fig. 5

- is a front elevation showinga plurality of bulletin clocks. Fig. 6 is a side elevation of the frame and skeleton of one otthe bulle t n clocks. .Fig. 7 1s a rearelevation of the mechanism for operating the minute arbor thereof andfor releasing the :pawls to per mlt the'minute hand to reurn to normal position; Fig. 8*is a sectional view through the spring casing and the minute arbor of the bulletin clock, taken on the line 8- 801 Fig. 6, a Referring vto the drawings, the numeral 1;

designates the casing'of the master @1o1 which is a manually actuated clock being provided with a shaft 2 controlledfbygthe crank 3," which in turn has a geartforoperating the gear 5 connected to and carried by the minute hand arbor 6, said minute hand 7 controlling through the gears 8, the hour hand 9. Thus the manual manipulation of the shaft i will move the respective hands 7 and-9 relative to the dialof the master clock. Carried bythe minute hand 7 is a resilient contact 10, disposed in the path to engage the respective contact pins 11, which are insulated from the'dial of the clock and disposed at the various minute periods of'the dial, so that at each movement of the hand? toi designate a minute,one contact 11 will be engaged, said a contact 11 asillustrated in Fig.1, being connected upon the inner face ofthe dial by an electric conducting'means 12. Itwill thus be seen that as theominute hand 7 is rotated clockwise or anti-clockwise that the spring contact 10 will wipe the stationary contacts 11 in succession, the

which willjpresently appear. 7 V

;The bulletin or controlled clocks 13 are each constructed similarly, and as before stated,;any number of these may be operated separately, from the master clock or any number-of them'may be'operated in serial order to designate'the arrival and leaving time of a certain train, the diagram as shownin Fig. 1, however, showing ,onlyone bulletin clockconnected for operation from themaster clock l. I v v Each bulletin clockconsists of the. base member, 14 which supports the cradle 15 which in turn carries the casingl in which is mounted the spiral spring, 17 one terminal of the spring 1-7j'being, connected to the cas:

ing- 16, Whileothe other terminal is connect purpose of ed to the minute hand arbor 18 The minute hand arbor 18, as in the usual form of clocks, carries the minute hand 19, and through the train of gears 20 operates the hour hand 21. In order that the arbor 18 may be manually operated, the finger receiving member 18 is connected upon the rear extension thereof as illustrated in Fig. (3. Fixed to the minute hand arbor 18 at the rear of the frame 16 is a ratchet wheel 22, which is provided with sixty teeth thus making it possible to hold the same in step with the sixty contact pins 11 of the master clock 1. A lug 23 is formed upon the base 1% and has pivoted therein, by means of the pin 24, the rocking frame or plate 25, which is provided with the limiting projection or lug 26 disposed for movement between the adjusting screws 27 and 28, as clearly illustrated in Fig. 7. Thus the oscillation of the plate or lever is controlled by the adjusting screws 27 and 28. Pivoted at 31 and to be carried by the oscillatory frame or plate 25 are the pawls 33 and S-L, the pawls 83 constituting the operating pawl for the ratchet wheel and consequently for operating the minute hand arbor 18 in opposition to the spring 17, while the pawl 34- constitutes the retrograde movement preventing pawl so that the ratchet wheel is locked against a retrograde movement after the same has been moved clockwise due to the oscillation of the frame 25 when attracted through the armature 29 and the electromagnet 30. It will thus be seen that when the electromagnet 30 is energized, that the armature 29 will be drawn thereto and consequently move the frame 25 to the left as viewed in Fig. 7, causing the pawl 33 to rotate the ratchet wheel 22 one tooth, while the terminal of the pawl at being nearer the pivotal point 21 will practically remain in a stationary position so that as the tooth of the ratchet wheel 22 passes therebeneath, the succeeding teeth will be engaged thereby and thus the ratchet wheel 22 will be locked against a retrograde movement after the release of the electromagnet 30 and the consequent return of the plate 25 to the position as shown in Fig. 7. N here found necessary a spring may be connected to the plate 25 for holding it in the return position, as shown in Fig. 7.

In order that the respective pawls 33 and 34 may be properly held in contact with the periphery of the ratchet wheel 22, the

springs 35 and 36 are provided, while carried upon the inner ends of the ratchets or pawls 33 and 34:, are the armatures 37 and 38, which are disposed in attractive relation with the poles of the respective electromagnets 39 and 39. which constitute the pawl releasing electromagnets, both being connected in series so as to be energized simultaneously for-releasing both the op n17ne15 crating pawl 33 and the retrograde move ment preventing pawl 34: from the ratchet 22 so that the spring 17 will return the minute hand arbor 18 and consequently both the minute and hour hands thereof to its normal or adjusted position.

In order that the respective bulletin clocks 13 may be adjusted to change the time of arrival or departure, an adjustable device )1 is connected so as to limit the movement of the minute hand and thus when the pawls are released will prevent the same from passing therebeyond, so that the bulletin clocks will under normal conditions always remain at the set time of the arrival or departure of the t'ain to which it appertains. a

in setting forth the operation of the present system attention is invited to the electrical diagram as illustrated in Fig. 1 and in order to describe its operation, the actuating electromagnet will be forth first. The circuit for controlling the elcctromagnet 30, includes the ground &0, the conductors 41 and ll, the battery as, which is of lesser strength than the battery 51, the conductor 13, the minute hand 7, the resilient contact 10 carried thereby, one 01' the stationary contacts 11, the connecting conductor 12 thereof, the conductor ii, the stationary metallic bar 15 of the actuating selective switch 16, which is attached to and carried by the casing of the master clock 1, the selective switch 47, which is slidably motmted upon the bar 15, the contact 4-8, which designates which bullet-in clock is to be controlled thereby, the conductor 49, the electromagnet 30, the conductor 50 and the ground 10. Thus when the train bulletin operator moves the switch a7 to engage the contact 48, the minute hand 7 which is manually operated by the operator will when the contact 10 thereof engages the contacts 11 cause the energization of the electromagnet 30, and the consequent oscillation of the plate or frame 25, so that the ratchet wheel 22 will be moved one tooth and consequently cause the minute hand arbor 18 to move the minute hand one space, to indicate that the departure of the train or the arrival thereof was one minute late. It will thus be seen that any number of clocks 13 may be connected in series with the conductors if) and 50 and that therefore only one is shown as controlled by the switch 927 and the selective contact d8 that any number may be operated at various parts of the railway station as may be deemed advisable.

As soon as the train designated by the bulletin clock 13 has departed or arrived, it is merely necessary for the operator to place the switchmember 47 at a space between the contacts L8 of the switch -16 and to then operate the sliding member 5% of the re leaseswitchb3, controlling the following circuit: The, ground.- 40, the conductor 41,.

the battery .51,the conductore'l, the stationary bar 52 of thegl'elea.sing switch 53, the selective switch member ea thereof, one contact-"eathereof, the conductors 56 and 49,

the electromagnets'89 and 39", the conductorsoQ and 50 and the ground-40; Thu'sthe twoelectromagnets 89 and"39, ,which are" not sensitive to the'lighter current of the electromagnet 30are energized simultaneously, both the operating pawl 33 and the retrograde movement preventing pawl 345 are moved inwardly so :as to release the ratchet-22m the action of the spring '17 that the minute hand arbor 1 8 of the bule' are expected to arrive or depart, such bul letin clocks being under the direct control of a single master clock at'a distant point, thus rendering it unnecessary for the 1nd1-- eating or bulletln clockto be manually con trolled as is the'present practice. V

Although the present device has been described as intended for use only with train bulletins, it is apparent that the same may be connected for operating at any point where it is desired to indicate the normal time'of starting and stopping, and means whereby such normal time clocks may be released and returned to its normal posi: tion. Whatisclaimed is: J

1. A system of the character described,

embodying avmaster clock having a switch. member and an annular series of contacts 7 I for the engagement therewith ofsaid switch me1nber,' a plurality of displaying clocks each having a spring returned hand, electro-magnetically-operated means for advancing the hand of each displaying clock, means for preventing the return movement of the hand of each displaying clock, electromagnetically-operated means controlling each second mentioned means, means for electrically connecting the switch member and contacts of the master clock to the first mentioned I electromagnetically operated means of the displayingclock's, means for energizing the second mentioned electromagnetically-operated means of the display ing clocks, the fourth and fifth mentioned means including selective switches whereby the displaying clocks may be controlled individually by the master clock.

It is the intention of the present inven 2.; A system of the character described, embodying a master clock having a switch member and' an annular series of contacts forthe engagement therewith of'sai'd switch member, a displaying clock having a. spring returned. hand, electromagneticall -operated -means for advancing the hand of the {displaying cloc'lg'means'for preventing the return movement of the hand of the displaying clock,-elecbro-magneticallyoperated 1 means controlling the second .mentioned means, a source of electricalenergy and a selectivelswitch connected in series withthe switch member and contacts of the master clock and with the first mentioned electromagnet-i'cally-operated means, and a: source of electrical energy and a selective switch connected inseries with the second mentioned electro-magnet1cally-operated means.

3. A system of the character described,

embodying a master clock having a switch fmember and an annular series of contacts for the'engagement therewith of said switch member, a displaying clock having aspring returned hand, electro-magnetically-operated means for advancing the hand of the displaying clock, means for preventing the return movement of the hand of the displaying clock, electro magnetically operated means controlling the second mentioned means, the two electro-magnetically-operated means being connected in parallel, a Y relatively weak source of electrlcal energy connectedin series with the master clock and electro-magneticallyoperated means, and a relatively strong source of electrical energy and a switch connected in series with said electro-magnetically-operated means, the first mentioned electro-magneticallypperated means being operated by-the, relatively weak source of electrical energy while the second mentioned electro-magnetically-operated means is only operated by the relatively strong source of electrical energy.

4. A system of the character described,

embodying a master clock having a switch member and an annularseries of'contacts for the engagement therewith of said switch member, adisplaying clock having a spring returned hand, electro-magneticallyroperated means for advancing the hand of the displaying clock, means for preventing the return movement of the hand of the displaying clock, electro 7 magnetically operated means controlling the second mentioned means, the two electro-magnetically-operatedmeans being connected in parallel, a relatively weak source of electricalenergy and a selective switch connected lnseries, with the master clock and electro-magneticallyoperated means, and a relatively strong source of electrical energy and a selective switch connected in series with said electromagnetically-operated means, the first mentioncd electro-magnetically-operated means being operated by the relatively Weak source or" electrical energy and the second mentioned electro-magnetically-operated means being operated only by the relatively strong source of electrical energy.

A displaying clock embodying a'spring returned minute hand arbor having a minute hand, a ratchet Wheel secured to said arbor, an oscillating lever, electro-magnetic means for oscillating said lever, a pawl carried by said lever and cooperatingwith the ratchet Wheel for advancing the same, and electromagnetic means carried by said lever for releasing said pawl from the ratchet wheel.

6. A displaying clock embodying a spring returned minute hand arbor having a minute hand, a ratchet Wheel secured to said arbor, an oscillating lever, a pawl pivoted to the lever adjacent the free end thereof, and c0- operating with the ratchet Wheel, a second pawl pivoted to the lever adjacent the pivot thereof and cooperating With the ratchet 'Wheel to prevent the retrograde movement thereof, electro-magnetic means for oscillatlng said lever, and electro-magnetic means carried by the lever for releasing said paWls from the ratchet Wheel.

7. A displaying clock embodying a spring returned minute hand arbor having a minute hand, a ratchet Wheel secured to said arbor, an oscillatory lever having an armature, electro-magnctic means for attracting said armature to oscillate said lever, a pawl pivoted to the lever adjacent the free end thereof and cooperating with the ratchet wheel, a second pawl pivoted to the lever adjacent the pivot thereof and cooperating with the ratchet Wheel to prevent the retrograde movement thereof, electro-magnets carried by the lever between the pawls, and armatures attached to the pawls and cofiperat: ing with said electro-magnets for releasing the pawls.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own, I have hereto affixed my signature in the presence of t vo witnesses.

CLIFFORD EARL ABERNETHY.

Witnesses R. J. Fos'rnn, O. J. BREWER.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents. Washington, D; C. 

